SINGAPORE: A food centre located on Circular Road recently underwent renovations, and some of the vendors complained of daily rat infestation, with some finding rat droppings in their refrigerators. With this, the town council has been addressing the problem, especially after catching 60 rats before and after the renovations.
When reporters visited the hawker centre, a 61-year-old stall owner told Shin Min Daily News that the rat infestation began before the renovation of the centre. He caught about 10 rats near his stall and revealed that some plastic containers that were used to hold food were eaten by rats; therefore, they had to be discarded.
“I thought the problem would be solved after the renovation, but when I came back, I found that there were still traces of mice. For example, I found mouse droppings in the refrigerator. After cleaning them up, they reappeared the next day,” the vendor declared.
Another stall owner, a 48-year-old, also said in an interview that when he came to clean his stall, he found out that his kitchen utensils were covered with rat droppings. Due to this, he puts his ingredients in his freezer, or he takes them home and brings them back to the stall the next day.
“I also have to clean the kitchen utensils that I washed the night before again when I open the stall the next day,” he added.
One more stall owner revealed that he found two bamboo steamers and several wires had been chewed up by rats. Due to this, he had to spend S$200 for repairs.
In response to this, the Town Council shared that they have been paying close attention to the issue and have been in touch with the pest control contractor.
Before the renovation began, the Town Council had launched a three-night rat extermination operation with the use of drones and closed-circuit television (CCTV) to monitor rat activity.
Furthermore, environmental sanitation measures were also strengthened during the renovation, and this includes removing food scraps, cleaning garbage collection areas, dealing with surrounding rat holes, and renovating garbage transfer stations and dishwashing areas to reduce food sources for rats.
The authorities also carried out daily treatments to deal with rat infestations. “In the future, I will continue to urge the town council to intensify its efforts and further strengthen the rodent control campaign,” the Council stated.
In previous news about rat infestations, there was a report that diners in a self-service instant noodle shop were shocked when they saw rats inside the sauce container. This unfortunate incident caused a temporary suspension of the shop for further investigation.
Read more about the story here.
